Heroin - Reactions with Other Drugs or Substances

Reactions with Other Drugs or Substances

"Speedballs" are a deadly combination of cocaine and heroin. "Hot rocks"—a combination of heroin and crack cocaine—are often fatal to users as well. Many other drugs enhance the dangers of heroin, including tranquilizers and alcohol. Taking amphetaminesPronounced am-FETT-uh-meens; stimulant drugs that increase mental alertness, reduce appetite, and help keep users awake. with heroin can cause an irregular heartbeat. (An entry on amphetamines is also available in this encyclopedia.)

One of the worst aspects of heroin use is that dosages vary. Dealers cut the pure heroin with fillers ranging from powdered milk to the ingredients found in rat poison. The purity of the heroin arriving from abroad can vary, too, depending on the health of the poppy crop and how the raw opium was processed. Those who use heroin never really know the strength of the product they are about to ingest. This can lead to overdose in even the most opiate-tolerant individuals.

Research has also shown that heroin addicts can have different reactions to the same dose of heroin if they take it in unfamiliar surroundings. A dose they can manage in a comfortable setting may become an overdose in a different setting. Scientists can offer no explanation for this particular reaction.

A person who has stopped taking heroin for some time, perhaps during detoxification or other therapy, can die of an overdose if he or she returns to the drug. Once the brain's chemical levels come closer to normal, doses that a user tolerated as an addict can become fatal. It was a return to heroin use after a period of detox that led to the death of the up-and-coming young American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1988. Basquiat was just twenty-seven years old.